If you are applying for an SIA licence and have lived overseas or spent six continuous months or more outside the UK within the five years prior to your application, you will need to produce a criminal record check from each relevant country. You will need to submit the original document, along with an official translation, to the SIA within five weeks of your application.
As a fully registered member of the Association of Translation Companies (ATC), TransAction are happy to confirm that our certified translations are accepted by the SIA.
Although the SIA can begin processing applications submitted without an overseas criminal record check, no decision will be made until an official certified translation has been received. It is therefore advisable to submit your application and attach a note explaining that your overseas criminal record check and a certified translation will follow separately.
TransAction regularly provide certified translations of police checks for various purposes. To get a quote for the translation of your document, send a scan of your report to transaction@transaction.co.uk. We will usually be able to get back to you with a quote on the same day and the translation should be ready to send to you 3-4 working days after payment is received.
Once you have received your completed certified translation you will need to post it, along with the original document, to the SIA with a cover letter stating your full name, address and date of birth. Please note that the certified translation and original must be sent within five weeks of your initial application.
The postal address for the SIA is:
SIA OCC Processing Centre
PO Box 1293
Liverpool
L69 1AX
England
Certified translations posted within the UK will need to be treated as large letters.
A step-by-step guide to applying for an SIA licence can be found on the SIA website. More information on obtaining and submitting overseas criminal checks is available here.
If you’d like more information about certified translations, please get in touch at transaction@transaction.co.uk or visit our previous blogs:
· What is a certified translation?
· How should I send you my documents?